WASHINGTON, D.C. – Tonight, voters in Hawaii’s second district made history by electing Tulsi Gabbard to the U.S. House of Representatives. With the help of EMILY’s List WOMEN VOTE! Gabbard made it through a highly competitive primary, and will now be one of the first female combat veterans in office, as well as the first Hindu to serve in Congress.

“Tulsi Gabbard is a strong young leader who, at 31, already has an impressive record of serving her community, and her country,” said Stephanie Schriock, President of EMILY’s List. “From coast to coast, voters decisively chose to elect leaders who want to move forward, instead of those who would turn back the clock by denying women equal pay, and access to preventive health services like birth control. The EMILY’s List community—now two million members strong—mobilized an impressive number of women voters who helped Tulsi Gabbard through tough primary, and the general election, and helped reelect President Obama. Tulsi Gabbard and the record number of pro-choice Democratic women who she will join in Congress will end the Republican War on Women, and build a more progressive America.”

Hawai’i has a remarkable legacy of electing pro-choice Democratic women who know how to get things done in Congress, and EMILY’s List is thrilled to have been a part of their campaigns. From supporting Patsy Mink who co-authored the historic Title IX legislation, to the more recent victories of progressive champions Colleen Hanabusa, Mazie Hirono, and now Tulsi Gabbard, Hawai’i has been on the forefront of holding Washington accountable by choosing leaders who know how to get things done for women and families.

EMILY’s List fully endorsed Tulsi Gabbard in May of 2012, and raised $89,423.38 for her in the 2011-2012 election cycle. Tulsi Gabbard made history when, at 21, she became the youngest woman elected to a state legislature in the country. In 2004, Tulsi became the first Hawaiian elected official to leave office to serve in war zone, serving two deployments to the Middle East with the National Guard. Now Tulsi Gabbard will be the first Hindu and one of the first women with combat experience to serve in Congress.

In Hawaii’s second district, WOMEN VOTE! released a television ad in support of Tulsi Gabbard, highlighting her small business experience and how she became the youngest state legislator in Hawai'i, volunteered for military duty in Iraq, and then came back to help veterans find jobs. The ad ran from July 23 through August 6 on broadcast television in Honolulu, representing a significant, six-figure buy (totaling 1200 GRPs). Gabbard won the primary with 54 percent of the vote. WOMEN VOTE! spent approximately $163,000 on behalf of Tulsi Gabbard.

Launched in 1995, the historic EMILY's List WOMEN VOTE! project combines polling and research, advanced information technology, sophisticated message testing, and precinct-by-precinct field work to mobilize millions of women voters across the country. EMILY's List designed WOMEN VOTE! to build a progressive political base that will elect more Democrats, especially women, by helping to increase turnout among women voters year after year.

During the 2011- 2012 election cycle, EMILY’s List endorsed an impressive number of candidates, worked to elect three pro-choice Democratic women to the House in special elections, and helped 11 House candidates, one Senate candidate, and one gubernatorial candidate make it through competitive primaries. With a community that has more than quadrupled since 2010 – now more than 2,000,000 members strong – EMILY's List is one of the largest political action committees in the nation. Since its founding in 1985, EMILY's List has worked to elect 87 pro-choice Democratic women to the House, 16 to the Senate, nine governors, and over five hundred of women to state and local office. In the 2011-2012 cycle, EMILY's List had the largest number of members and donors in our 27 year history, and raised an impressive $51.2 million dollars.